Students, job-hunters, those searching for career bliss… all hear me… I’m about to share the #1 secret to career success. Are you ready?
Learn a skill that doesn’t require other people’s equipment.
(Quoted because it’s my original quote) Its just that simple! Now, what do I mean? Quite simply, the true path to success and freedom is to learn a skillset that doesn’t require someone else’s equipment. Today’s computer industry is a great example. You can literally buy a $300 notebook computer and learn to make a website that could eventually be worth millions of dollars. Or you could at least learn how to code in various computer languages and monetize your time. Or learn to be a master at Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Or become a graphic designer. It’s all on the table, and you don’t require anyone else’s equipment to do it!
Now, what do I mean by “other people’s equipment?” Well, lets say you are a crane operator. You are the safest operator in the area and the most efficient worker. You know the operation of the X2000 Super Crane better than anyone. In fact, you recently won an award for being so knowledgable. Only problem is, the crane costs just shy of $1 million! So even if you are a genius at operating this device, which is definitely a skill, you are stuck because most likely you can’t afford to buy one and even if you did, one isn’t enough to justify an entire operation.
So the secret is to learn a skill where the start-up equipment cost is low and the demand for services is high. This is why outsourcing is so huge right now – a person living in india with any level of internet access can get that cheap notebook computer, become so skilled and perform a job for 1/10th the cost of a local resource in the USA. And over there, he’s living a good life. Not bad!
So what are some examples of professions where this is possible? In order of start-up investment:
- Anything computers: programming, design, virtual assistance, etc.
- Writing & blogging
- Travel & E-Concierge Services
- Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Repair: Appliance, etc.
- Local Services: Handyman, construction, landscaping, electrician, plumbing
- Video & Photographic services
- Mechanic
- Real estate
- Legal / Lawyers in private practice
- Doctor in private practice: dentist, GP (High schooling & equipment costs but you can take loans to start it)
Now, sure, not everyone wants to do these jobs. But look carefully – are the people you know in these types of jobs where they are independent more or less happy and enjoying higher levels of freedom then people who are forced to work for someone else, sometimes doing the same exact tasks? And who has diversified their income better?
I quickly learned this lesson when I was in college. I was a broadcasting major, which was fun, but I quickly realized that I was learning a skill-set that would put me in a position to almost always find employment with a company capable of providing the proper equipment. It was fun to be an audio operator or a technical director but in reality it was a highly competitive industry where you’d always be reliant on someone else to provide work. And even worse, a 10-year career can be sullied by one on-air screwup. Ouch! Maybe that’s why most of those jobs are unionized.
I spent more and more time (or lonely, geeky nights) teaching myself how the internet worked by actually building out sites with the purpose of making money. I didn’t make much money but I learned a lot. Ever since my first job I was always looking for freelance work or working on projects on the side. I was able to do that because the internet is the biggest and best vehicle for self-success ever invented!
I want to say that again because its so damned important:
The internet is the biggest and best vehicle for self-success ever invented!
Of course there are jobs that are skill-based that are great jobs and probably worth doing if you really have a passion for it. How about being a pilot? Not a lot of people can provide their own 777-200 to rent to passengers. So if you want to fly a plane or operate a train or clean windows on a skyscraper – more power to you. But you have to sacrifice some control over your career path. Ask the thousands of furloughed pilots after 9/11 what they think about that.
Speaking of pilots and broadcasting employees… Can you think of something common with both of those careers? Lots of broken hearts. Why? Because the amount of people who want to work in TV or on airlines is so large, people are interchangeable. Thats why your pilot flying that Embraer Regional Jet you are packed into like a sardine makes less money per year than the guy who picked up your trash yesterday. Oh, and the garbage guy probably didn’t commute from 2,000 miles away to get to work after pulling a shift at a coffee house as a barista. Why deal with this crap? Because there are tons of people waiting in the wings (pardon the pun!) to take their job. Sometimes these people even donate their time to work FOR FREE as interns to prepare themselves for years of future under employment! 70 people out of 7,000 are chosen for the NBC Page program to earn a whooping $10/hr and no promise of future employment. Yikes!
So what if you are stuck in a job where you are reliant on other peoples stuff? Build a skill set that is related but outside the scope of what you do. If you are a camera operator at the Today Show and want other work, then get out there and build a videography business on the side. Or if you are a beat reporter, try to write your own blog and see if you can get some traction. The possibilities are endless.
